Jar Of Hearts
by LittleMissMollah
Summary: A one-shot about Quinn and Rachel. Set mostly in flashbacks inspired by the "Jar of Hearts" scene at Prom. Warnings for angst. I suck at summaries, please read!


This is un-edited and un-beta'd. I wanted to write something for the Jar of Hearts scene, and it turned into this. Enjoy!

**Bold is song lyrics, set in the present.**

_Italics are flashbacks._

* * *

><p><strong>"Don't you know I'm not your ghost any more, I lost the love I loved the most. I learned to live, half a life.."<strong>

_"I'm sorry." Quinn looked at the floor, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "I.. I can't do this, Rachel."_

_"But you said you loved me." Rachel looked down at her hands, and then back up at Quinn. "You told me. You said.. you said you were sorry for all the pain you caused me. You said you never wanted to hurt me again." The last words came out in a harsh whisper._

_"I know. I'm sorry. But, I'm with Finn now. We're going to become Prom King and Queen. I'm-"_

_"How could you do this to me?"_

_Quinn's eyes snapped up to meet Rachel's. The brunette's face was full with so much pain that Quinn felt her heart breaking. She couldn't stand to see her girlfriend in pain. But Rachel wasn't Quinn's girlfriend any more. This was it. They were done._

_"I can't do this Rachel. Please. Just let me go. I can't… I can't be with you. I'm sorry. Just.. promise you won't tell anyone?"_

_The shorter girl paused for a moment. "I.. of course."_

_Quinn smiled and left, taking a piece of Rachel with her._

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><p><strong>"And who do you think you are, running round leaving scars? Collecting your jar of hearts, tearing love apart…"<strong>

_"Here's how the story plays out. I get Finn, you get heartbroken." Quinn stood in front of the piano, trying to keep the tears from falling. "You don't belong here, Rachel. And you can't hate me for trying to send you on your way."_

_"Is that why you broke up with me?" Rachel asked. "You don't love Finn. You're going to hurt him, again."_

_The blonde girl's blood boiled and she began screaming at Rachel. "You don't know ANYTHING about me, Rachel! Don't ever pretend that you do!"_

_"I know that you loved me." Rachel's words were almost inaudible, spoken in a broken whisper._

_"I never loved you. Why would you think that I could love someone like you? Not only are you, well, you, but you're a girl. That's disgusting."_

_Rachel felt her heart shattering into a million pieces. Whatever was left the day Quinn broke up with her was now destroyed. She fled the room, tears streaming down her face. It would be a long time before she could trust anyone else with her heart the way she had trusted Quinn._

* * *

><p><strong>"I wish I could miss the first time that we kissed, 'cause you broke all your promises…"<strong>

_"I had a really fun time tonight."_

_Rachel and Quinn were standing on Rachel's doorstep, the scene softly illuminated by the porch lights. It was the epitome of the stereotypical post-date goodnight._

_Quinn glanced down at her hands, which were cradled by the hands of the smaller girl standing before her. She blushed, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "Yeah, me… me too."_

_Rachel leaned up on the tips of her toes and placed a soft kiss on the other girl's lips. "Goodnight," she whispered against Quinn's soft lips, before releasing her hands and going inside._

_Quinn froze on the doorstep for a few minutes, her fingertips resting on her lips. They still tingled from the gentle kiss given her by the shorter girl._

_Blushing and smiling, the blonde girl drove all the way home in a bit of a daze._

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><p><strong>"You're gonna catch a cold, from the ice inside your soul. So don't come back for me, don't come back at all! Who do you think you are?"<strong>

_"… will you go to prom with me?"_

_Rachel will always remember how long it felt before Quinn finally spoke. But what she will remember even more than that, is what she said._

_"Rachel, I can't. I'm sorry. I… I have to go."_

_The next day, Quinn broke up with Rachel._

_Things were never the same after that._

* * *

><p>Quinn turned herself and Finn so that she could watch Rachel finish her song. Everyone thought that it was directed at Finn, but she knew better. Her stomach churned as everything she had ever said to the girl ran through her head.<p>

But she couldn't be with Rachel. She couldn't be. This was Lima, Ohio, and she couldn't be.. she couldn't be different. She was with Finn. She was happy. Right?

She flicked her gaze down to her boyfriend, away from the girl standing on stage. Quinn couldn't bear to see the pain she had caused. Besides, Finn was her date.

Not Rachel.

She knew that she had lost her chance with the smaller girl a long time ago.


End file.
